Interior compartments with pivotally mounted doors have traditionally been provided in the forward portion of cars and trucks. These compartments are for the storage of articles which are useful to the driver and passengers. For example, glove boxes have been provided in most cars and trucks. Currently, additional compartments are also being provided in other locations such as the lower forward console and the like for storage of various additional items such as audio tapes, garage door openers and the like.
It has been desired to provide the doors of such compartments with latching means for opening and closing the doors which do not require the use of a handle or trigger located on the door as is common with conventional latch systems.
In accordance with the present invention, a latching mechanism is provided which is fixed to the top of the door frame and engages a fixed striker cam located on the top edge of the door. The door is spring-loaded outwardly and moves in and out relative to the latch-spring assembly. The latch spring follows a complete cycle around the striker cam when the door is opened and then closed. The latch system may be referred to as a "push-push" latch.
The current regulation relating to such doors is that during an instrument head impact test, all instrument panel compartment doors must remain in a closed and latched condition. A push-push latch system inherently opens upon impact. Upon impact, the compartment door experiences an inertia loading which causes an inward deflection of the door. This deflection of the door allows the latch system to move to an unlatched condition, which is of course desired in accordance with the present invention, although not as a result of such an impact or random jolting of the vehicle.
In order to prevent opening of the door under conditions of a head impact test or upon vehicle jolting, a viscous damper has been provided such that the door travels in and back out before the latch system can move to an unlatched position.
Another benefit of using a latch-spring damper system is that of decreased operating noise during the latch cycling period. Without use of a damper system, the latch may result in noisy cycling because of the high speed at which the latch-spring snaps around the corners of the striker cam. The use of a damper reduces operating noise considerably by slowing the latch spring motion and reducing vibrations of the latch spring itself.
Viscous dampers are, of course, well known in the art. The principles thereof are set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,393. Additionally, the use of striker cam means with spring loaded latching structure is also known, as exemplified by British Pat. No. 1,188,996. However, such structures have not been proposed in the past for a pivotal vehicle compartment door to prevent undesired unlatching and reduction in noise levels of the catch mechanism.